The River Church Community

Hello Reef!

Hope you are having a great week.  I got to see Joe Bonamassa at the San Jose Jazz Festival for $10.  Pretty awesome.

Krista-Dawn rejoined us on staff.  It's good to have her back.  She had a good experience in India and Thailand with our ICE teams and was appreciative of the chance to debrief her experience in the conference that the Bankok ICE team led.

We've been talking about ways to help the church engage personally with the topic of Spiritual Warfare.  The current plan is to give people a chance to submit questions about Spiritual Warfare at service on Sunday and then for me to post some answers here for everyone to read and comment on.  Don't worry, I'm not personally answering all of the questions.

Tony and Angela are hard at work preparing for RiverFest and Kindness San Jose.  Hopefully you had a chance to sign up for a project on Sunday.  If not, you can contact Tony, or sign up this coming Sunday.

Kyle had a great time with the students watching Wall-E on Monday.  Summertime gives some good times to connect.

Mark is also back after a restful week of vacation up in Oregon with his family.

Have a great week!

Dave

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Announcements from Sunday:

RiverFest and Kindness San Jose

·        Join us on Sunday, August 31^st, for an end-of-summer celebration and community outreach event!

·        There will be worship, food, and opportunities for us to engage with our neighbors through kindness projects in the downtown area. The fun begins at 10 am for a shortened worship service at The River Ministry Center. Then we will disperse into ten serving teams that will engage different parts of downtown. Afterwards, we will gather at Ryland Park for a picnic lunch and to share stories about our time together loving our neighbors.

·          Check out the playing card you received when you walked in for a list of all the serving projects. Please sign-up for the serving project that most interests you after service on Sundays. Sign-up sheets will be outside the Fireside Room or you may contact Tony Traback, Pastor of Mission Mobilization at , 408-252-5500 x110.

·        We would like to get a head-count of who will be participating in which project before August 31st so signing up is greatly appreciated. The leader for each of the projects may also need to contact you prior to August 31 to arrange details.

Changes that Heal Book Study

·        David and the Restoration Team are beginning a new 12 week book study in September.

·        The book is Changes that Heal by Dr. Henry Cloud focuses on four developmental task: bonding to others to form truly intimate relationships, separating from others to gain a greater sense of self, integrating good and bad, and growing emotionally and spiritually into healthy adulthood.

·        Dr. Cloud combines his well-developed faith, and keen understanding of human nature in a four-step program of healing and growth

·        This group begins Monday, September 15th and goes for 12 consecutive weeks until Monday, December 1st – this group will meet from 7PM – 9PM at The River Ministry Center.

·        Sign up today at the Connecting Table or e-mail Pastor David at to sign up.

Welcome Dessert

·        If you have recently starting attending The River or are looking for ways to connect deeper into the life of our church, we invite you to a Welcome Dessert hosted by our Lead Pastor, Brad Wong, at his home on August 29th.

·        Brad, along with several staff members, will provide a brief history of The River, explain our values as a church, offer ways for you to get involved, and answer any questions you may have. But mostly, we just want to get to know you over some delicious desserts and drinks in a relaxing, friendly environment.

·        Please let us know if you can make the event so we can provide you with address and directions. Email Angela Aviles at or call 408.252.5500 x106. 

Dinner after service in Fireside Room

·        Dinner this week is from Sonoma Chicken Coop

·        We have some tables set up outside which should help the temperature

·        I would encourage you to take this opportunity to sit with someone you don't know as well.  For those of you who have been at the church for a while, seek out an unfamiliar face and extend hospitality to them

·        Please let families with small children go through the food line first

Welcome/Connecting

·        If you are new, and have questions about the church, please ask any of Connecting Hosts or staff members wearing a blue River lanyard and nametag.

·        The Connecting Table is now located OUTSIDE. There is Pizza Bread out there for you enjoy.